Following on from their 1-2 result last week in the Pro GRT Round 2 at Mountain Creek, the Trek World Racing duo of Aaron Gwin (USA) and Justin Leov (NZL) successfully repeated the result in Plattekill, New York, a venue that’s a favorite for both riders. Neko Mulally (USA) opted to rest up before Italy to ensure his ankle injury had the full amount of time to recovery before World Cup Round 2.

Both Aaron and Justin used these two Pro GRT races as preparation for Italy, and found the dusty, rooty tracks ideal for what should be another dusty and dry race in Italy. Both riders were happy with their results and their preparation for the recommencement of the World Cup series which has been on a bizarre 11 week break.

In seeding Aaron was 1.5 secs ahead of Justin on the 2m 18secs race run, but in the final, Justin narrowed that margin to just 0.6secs. Both riders had solid runs in their finals with no errors to speak of. The team was supported by Justin Frey of Fox Racing Shox during the week and some new improvements to the suspension before Italy had the guys pretty happy.

Aaron said: “This was probably the most chilled out race I’ve ever done. There’s such a great atmosphere here in Plattekill, perfect for training and racing as it’s a low pressure event before the World Cups start again. I’m stoked for Justin. He rode really well all weekend and has definitely stepped up his game in the last two weeks.”

Justin said: “I had a fun time racing this weekend against Aaron. I got up to speed quickly and felt really comfortable. My Session is dialed now thanks to Fox and I’m really just looking forward to taking this momentum to Italy next weekend.”

The downhillers are now on their way to Italy for the all-important 2nd round of the UCI World Cup, and the following week will see Round 3 in legendary Fort William, Scotland.